Continents & Oceans: Our Favorite Supplements

Teaching geography can be one of the most fun and engaging subjects to teach in a homeschool or classroom. Rather than focusing solely on boring map work and map drills, there are so many fun games, puzzles, and activities that can be added in. Learning through play is always the most effective way to teach, and by incorporating games children will look forward to their geography studies! 

This blog post is focused on supplements that can be used to aid in teaching the continents and oceans. These supplements are meant to be used in addition to the curriculum you are using. Learning the continents and oceans is a great starting place for beginning geography. Once students can easily name all of the continents and oceans, you could shift your studies to famous explorers, or you could "travel the world" to visit different countries and cultures and learn all about their customs, their geography, and the regional wildlife. Making crafts, learning each country's flag, playing cultural music, learning about composers or famous artists, and even making some recipes are all very fun additions to geography studies.

Learning the continents has been a review for my third grader, but a "whole new world" for my kindergartner! So, I thought I'd share our favorite ways to supplement to help make learning about world geography engaging and fun. Here is my list with our favorite supplements. I hope you find something you would enjoy!

1. MudPuppy World Puzzle

My 5 year old is able to complete a puzzle with about 75-100 pieces in a few days all on his own, which is probably typical for most 5 year olds. Assembling a puzzle was the perfect idea because we could talk about the continents as he built it and learn a little bit about the animals in each continent. He was so proud of himself when he finished his puzzle and by the end of it he was able to name all of the continents by himself!

2. GeoPuzzles 

My third grader loves Geopuzzles! He has been doing these with my help since about the first grade and now he is able to do them completely on his own. They can be used repeatedly over the years to reinforce and remember the location of the countries within each continent. I really love that the puzzle pieces are cut along the border of each country, rather than just cutting it randomly over different countries. That way, the student has to locate where each individual country belongs in relation to the counties it borders. I highly recommend this set.

3. Professor Noggin Countries of the World

This highly popular game comes in many different versions, and is excellent for reviewing information already learned in school as well as learning new and interesting facts. Play it at the dinner table with the entire family for a fun and educational dinner game!

4. TpT Continent Pack by The Rocket Resource

I found this little gem on Teachers Pay Teachers and it has been just what we needed. It's loaded with a variety of worksheets, writing prompts, games, and activities! We did not do each and every worksheet because it would probably take several weeks to do them all! But it was so nice to have a variety to choose from and we could pick the ones that seemed the most interesting. We especially love the 3 games included! We love learning through games and these are really fun for making learning extra fun!

5. Usborne Look Inside Our World 

My kindergartner has learned so much about our world just by reading this book. These lift the flap books make learning so engaging and the "Look Inside" books are perfect for the 4-7 age range. We have truly loved snuggling up and reading this book!

6. Usborne Lift the Flap Atlas

The Usborne Lift the Flap Series is on a little higher level than the "Look Inside" books. This one is more suited for my 3rd grader. He is able to sit down on his own and read this book. He can explore each continent and lift the flaps to read all about the countries. This book is packed with all kinds of interesting facts!

7. Usborne Atlas Jigsaw Puzzle

This gorgeous atlas puzzle is so much fun to work on together as a family! The illustrations are just so beautiful. Something about doing a puzzle just really engrains the names and locations of a continent in your mind. When you keep saying things like, "I can't find the tip of South America!" or "Where is the rest of Asia?!" you can rest assured you are engraining the names of those continents permanently into your child's mind!

8. Evan Moor Geography Grade 1

I had this workbook leftover from my older son. We somehow never used it, so I'm using it with my kindergartner and we have been really happy with it. It is meant for first grade, but it is not too difficult for him to comprehend. It includes some really cute little activities to expand his learning. Some of the projects we have done so far are to make a map of his room and he also made a compass and played a game with the compass he made. So far, this book has really helped to teach him all about maps, what they are and how they work, what a compass rose is, what a map key is, etc. This has been a great addition and he is really enjoying it!

 9. The Complete Book of Maps and Geography 

I have been using this workbook for my third grader and I have been extremely pleased with it. It is very thorough and includes a huge variety of worksheets for each area of geography. This has been a wonderful resource. Topics included in this book are the following: Introduction to Maps, United States Geography, United States Regions, Grid Maps, and Global Geography.

10. Usborne Sticker Picture Atlas 

Yet another beautiful book by Usborne. I plan to use this along with our Galloping the Globe curriculum. After we study the continents we will study explorers and then we will travel around the world "visiting" different countries on each of the continents learning all about their geography, landscape, cultures, food, customs, religions, and the way they live! As we visit each continent, we will do the sticker page in this book that corresponds with the continent we are learning about.

11. Galloping the Globe 

I just mentioned the Galloping the Globe curriculum that we will be using as we study the different countries and cultures in our homeschool. This book is LOADED with wonderful resources and ideas for activities and topics to cover. This is not a textbook or a book that you sit and read to your children. It is simply a resource book giving ideas for things to do as you visit each country. If you're the type of homeschooler that likes to get creative and come up with your own things to do and gather the supplies and plan the projects, then this book would be for you! If you prefer an open and go curriculum, that requires absolutely no planning then I would not recommend this book. It is best used as a guide for abundant amounts of resources covering the different countries. 

12. Usborne Geography Encyclopedia 

Usborne is famous for their incredibly beautiful encyclopedias and non-fiction books. This one is a must for every homeschool or classroom library! Such beautiful photography and maps are included. This is an essential!

13. The World Around Me Mega Bundle

This is amazing! I'm not sure how long this bundle will be available for purchase, but there is currently a HUGE sale on this enormous bundle full of all kinds of worksheets and activities! Included are units studying the continents, geography, rocks and gems, the atmosphere, a few different individual country units, and SO MUCH more! This is a fantastic resource!

14. Geography from A to Z

This is a good reference book for teaching lower elementary age students about geography features. It includes a definition and picture of various geographical landscapes such as lakes, rivers, plateaus, canyons, basins, etc. Take your time going through this one to let your little one absorb and process the new vocabulary.

15. Where do I Live?  

This book explains to children where in the world they live. It starts out small in their own bedroom, then goes to their house, then the town, and so forth all the way to the countries and continents and beyond. It really gives an idea of how big the world is.

16. Follow That Map!

This book introduces young children to the parts of a map and how to read maps in a really fun way. It also covers cardinal direction, how to measure a distance between two points, and it even includes how to make a map of your own room. It includes vocabulary that is simple and easy to understand by early elementary age students.

17. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World 

Travel the globe gathering ingredients to make an apple pie and learn all about the world while you're at it! The end of the book even includes a simple recipe to make an apple pie!

That is it for my list! I hope this compilation of geography books, games, and activities helps you in your homeschool! 

If you like this post and want to ask a question or submit a suggestion, comment below. I would love to hear about activities, games, or books that you have used for this topic and that have been effective in your own homeschool!  

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